Concepts of Basic Design

One of the critical things to think about when you consider doing a brochure, catalog or other printed communication is the design of the piece.

Let's call this Design 101: the basic concepts of design.

Consider these concepts when you are talking with your designer. After all, it is their language:

• Balance
• Rhythm
• Proportion
• Dominance
• Unity

Balance is the concept of elements (text, graphics, white space) within a given space (in this case, the printed page). Balance is either symmetrical or asymmetrical.

Rhythm speaks to the repetition or alternation of those same elements.

The size and relationship between elements speaks to proportion.

Dominance is the relationship of size and position between the elements: what is dominant in the design?

And unity is describes the parts and the whole of the piece.

If you speak the language, you will not only communicate clearly to your designer, you will also understand how you are communicating to your audience.

The Executive Pressman
*Thanks to Joshua David McClurg-Genevese; from his article in Digital Web Design Magazine (http://www.digital-web.com/articles/principles_of_design/)

Typefaces and Fonts and Brand

Integral to the design of all documents that are read is the choice of a typeface or font.

It really is the "face" of a document.

First of all, what is a typeface or font? Actually, they are two different terms. A typeface, as defined by Wikipedia, "...is a set of one or more fonts, in one or more sizes, stylistically similar...compris(ed) of a set letters, numbers and punctuation marks..."

A font is, since the advent of computer technology, a single style of letter (to paraphrase Wikipedia).

So, fonts are a part of typography.

What does this mean to you?

Well, as a consumer or business owner, you can help shape your brand and look of your company. A certain typeface tells a story about you--from serious to playful to what your company does.

Setting type together with color, lines, shapes and photographs will define your collateral materials as well as your webpage. Be sure to be consistent and use the same faces in similar situations.

A qualified designer can take the concepts of your company and interpret them into these forms and shapes just as a qualified writer would tell your story in print or in a speech. Whether it is a PowerPoint presentation, a printed brochure or your webpage, what is written, both as a content and as viewed, is powerful to the reader's brain as well as their eyes.

The Executive